The Pain of a Muggle with Magic Friends
by Just Another Fanatic
Summary: Jessica is a Muggle girl who lost her two best friends years earlier when they were accepted, one at a time, to a boarding school. Now, Jessica is meeting Colin again and wants to make him regret ever breaking contact with her. Series of Oneshots
1. Chapter 1

The Pain of a Muggle with Magic Friends

15-year-old Jessica London did not know what to expect from the two boys who had been her best friends for the first nine years of her life. She had not talked to either one since Dennis had been accepted to the same school Colin had already been going to for two years. And now, with a week before they left for school again, Jessica had to face them both because her parents had invited their family to teatime. The Londons and the Creeveys had always been good friends, but did that mean that they had to bring her back to the memory of life before she lost her two best friends?

_At least if they weren't going to keep in touch_, Jessica thought applying a layer of mascara to her already long eyelashes, _I can make them sorry_. She had already changed her outfit five times and had settled on a blue dress that brought out her eyes, even though they were more of a gray color. Now, after the final application of make-up, which she only wore to special events, Jessica made her way down the steps and was ready to answer the door as soon as they arrived.

Jessica had always been shorter than Colin, and taller than Dennis. She had flat brown hair that usually had an inch of split ends except when she had just gotten it cut, like she had that morning. She was the kind of girl who would stress out about the littlest things in life, and pull her hair out over the big things. Jessica's favorite word was revenge, and this was what this tea party was going to be about for her.

"You look nice," Jessica heard an unfamiliar voice behind her and she screamed. She whipped around to see the unmistakable figure of Colin standing behind her.

"When did you get here?" she asked after recovering from the shock.

"About three minutes ago," Colin replied, "your parents let me in. My brother and parents are still on their way, but I came early because I had nothing better to do."

"So I've been reduced to something for when you have nothing better to do?" Jessica asked trying to mix her voice to sound like a mixture of accusation and sadness. The result was her normal tone.

"I just haven't had any time lately," Colin replied. "We get homework over the summer, and I'm constantly writing letters to my schoolmates. And of course, my parents are always hogging Dennis and my time because they don't see us except for Christmas break."

"Colin," Jessica said, "I haven't spoken with you since I was 10. I haven't spoken with Dennis in three years either. You two used to be my best friends. What kind of school do you two go to that it is so important to completely abduct you from this world?"

Colin smiled and looked round the corner to make sure her parents were occupied. "Does your room still have a working lock?" he asked.

"You perverted little…," Jessica yelled hitting his arm several times.

"No," Colin hushed her. "It's a secret. I need to make sure your parents can't overhear what I'm about to tell you. So…?"

"Yeah, but they will still be able to hear if they wanted to," Jessica replied.

"I'll be quiet about telling you," Colin promised. "Just because I couldn't speak in anything less than a yell when I was eleven doesn't mean that I'm still that loud."

Jessica hadn't even noticed that she and Colin had been making their way to her room until she sat on her bed and he closed and locked the door. Colin grabbed the chair by her desk and pulled it as close to the bed as he could while still leaving room for his still stick-thin legs.

"Dennis and I go to a school for witches and wizards," Colin said barely above a whisper.

Jessica smiled and Colin knew that she didn't believe him. Before she knew it, she was rolling on her bed laughing and Colin was trying to get her to be quiet.

"You don't seriously expect me to believe that, do you?" Jessica asked through a fit of giggles.

Colin smiled and asked, "Want me to prove it?"

"How?" Jessica asked. "Let me guess, you're not allowed to perform magic during the summer holiday."

"Well, no," Colin admitted, "I'm not allowed to, but I have other ways to prove it."

"Like what?" Jessica asked.

"Moving pictures," Colin said slowly, "loads of them."

"Movies?" Jessica asked.

"No," Colin said, "follow me." Colin grabbed her wrist and pulled her out the room. They avoided the rest of the people in the house, which now included Colin's parents and younger brother, and sneaked out the back door. Once safe from their families, Colin released Jessica's wrist.

"What kind of animal did you have?" Jessica asked looking at a cage with animal bones and feathers, but no animal.

"I have an owl," Colin said. "Houdini is taking a message to a friend at the moment, but should be back by tonight."

"An owl?" Jessica asked, "you've got to be kidding me. What kind of person owns an owl?"

"They're the most popular pet among witches and wizards." Colin smiled as he said this. "Just because no Muggles have them doesn't mean that no one owns any owls. My friend Harry Potter has this beautiful snowy owl that is just a genius. Houdini isn't quite as smart, but he gets the job done. Speaking of Harry, here's a picture of him from my first year."

Jessica looked at the picture Colin had just handed her and could not believe what she was seeing. It wasn't like a holographic card that changes between two different pictures, the boy in the picture was trying to escape from a handsome man. The arm of the boy was wobbling like it had no bones or something, and the boy was using his legs to kick and push the man away from him. The man, not seeming to notice the escape attempts of the boy kept smiling and waving with his free hand.

"How is it doing that?" Jessica asked.

"It's a magic picture," Colin replied. "Here's Dennis and a few of his class mates."

The picture Colin handed to Jessica now was of Dennis and three other boys. Dennis was the smallest among them, but seemed to have the biggest ego. The four boys were flexing their nonexistent muscles and punching each other playfully. After a moment, two girls walked through the background of the picture and didn't seem to notice they could be seen.

"You really do go to a magic school," Jessica half-asked and half-realized.

"Yes," Colin said, "I do. I'm a wizard."

"But, your parents aren't," Jessica stated.

"No," Colin shook his head; "they are not. It's not a trait that needs to be passed along from the parents to the kids. Some kids of magic people don't possess magic; they're called Squibs. Other people without magic, like my parents, like you, are called Muggles. Dennis and I just happen to possess magic."

"Can you perform a spell for me?" Jessica pleaded.

"No," Colin said, "it's against the rules to perform magic over the holidays and I don't want to get expelled. Harry almost got expelled before his fifth year because he cast a spell, but it was to save his cousin and his lives. There was a whole trial and our headmaster lost a lot of respect, but I never doubted him, not for a minute."

"You seem to really like this guy," Jessica giggled, "is he like your boyfriend."

"I thought you knew me better than that," Colin was shocked.

"Maybe five years ago," Jessica said, "but you never talked about your love, Gary, back then."

"No," Colin said, "I am not homosexual. And his name is Harry, not Gary. And it's not like I spen a lot of time with Harry. I spend most of my time with Theo and Laura. Here," Colin handed her another picture that was moving of Colin, a shy looking girl, and a stocky boy all playing chess, only the pieces were smashing each other. "What about you, what have you been up to the last five years?"

"I've been living a normal, non-magic life," Jessica said. She stuck her tongue out at her former best friend. She looked down at the picture of Dennis and his friends. He looked so happy, she felt like crying.

"Who are those with your brother?"

"The blonde boy is named Kevin Whitby," Colin said, "the short, fat one is named Zarchary Dunhole, and that's Phillip Penther. All three of them are Hufflepuffs, it makes me wonder why Dennis wasn't put in Hufflepuff with them."

"Hufflepuff?" Jessica asked.

"There are four houses at the school," Colin explained. "Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Dennis and I are both in Gryffindor, but Dennis' friends are all Hufflepuffs. Hufflepuff is for the loyal, honorable, hard-working people."

"And Gryffindor?"

"The brave, courageous ones."

Jessica burst out laughing. There was no way that her friend, who used to scream when they thought that a mouse was in the house, could be considered brave. He couldn't even defend her when they were six and seven and the eight-year-old boys from down the block made fun of her for being a girl.

"Hey," Colin blushed, "for your information, I can be very brave when I need to be. I have countless times stood up for my fellow Gryffindors when Slytherins twice my size…"

"Which isn't really saying anything about them," Jessica laughed.

"When Slytherins twice my size have insulted us and I was petrified by a giant snake during my first year when I was out during the middle of the night when I wasn't supposed to be."

"Oh," Jessica laughed, "so now you're brave and a rule-breaker. You seemed more truthful when you had only showed me the pictures. I think I'm starting to get this. This is all some huge hoax that you and Dennis are trying to pull on me. Show me a few pictures that move, and tell me a few stories. I'm not sure how you made the pictures move, but it must be something really high tech, like those really flat TVs people are hanging on the walls like a picture. The rest of it was all just a story."

"What I'm telling you is all truth," Colin claimed.

"Right," Jessica laughed, "and I'm the Queen. Maybe you'll really get me next time, but for now, I'm not fooled."

"If you're not going to believe me, then we ought to get back to tea before our parents get mad." Colin grabbed something out of the bottom of his trunk. "And you can have a chocolate frog for the heck of it."

"A what?"

"It's just chocolate." Colin almost seemed disappointed that Jessica didn't believe him.

After having tea and talking with the Creeveys for an hour, Jessica had finally escaped to her room. She didn't know why she ever believed Colin for one moment. He had always been an impulsive liar to his parents, and now it seemed that it was everyone he lied to. She looked at the box he had given her. She sure did want the chocolate. She pulled it open, and the next thing she knew, a chocolate-colored frog jumped into her hair.


	2. Chapter 2

The Pain of a Muggle in Love with her Magic Friend

It had not yet been quite a full year since the gray-eyed brunette last saw her old best friend, but this time around she was going to believe him. However, what really plagued her was that she thought she might be in love with her magical friend, and she couldn't stand it. She had to do something to get him out of her mind.

Jessica London had been invited to a rather large rave, and she was going to bring Colin Creevey along, whether he wanted to go or not. She had on her best party clothes and sat waiting for the Creeveys to return from Kings Cross Station in London.

"I feel stupid," Jessica hissed to herself as she watched the sun set.

"But you look great." This time Jessica recognized the voice of Colin.

"How did… When… Where are… How in the world did you get there? Aren't you supposed to be arriving home today?"

"Yesterday," Colin said and took a bite of an apple.

"Get changed into party clothes," Jessica said pushing him back into his house and up the stairs to his room. "We're going to a rave."

"You want to show up to a party with me?" Colin lifted an eyebrow. "Not that I'm not flattered, but I'm a shrimp, and I haven't been in Muggle society for years. And last time I spoke with you, you laughed in my face."

"I'm sorry already," Jessica cried. She received a few letters from Colin during the year, and had written him back, apologizing in each one. She looked at the cage in Colin's room to see a familiar barn owl just waking from her whining. "I'm sorry Houdini. Did I wake you?"

"I don't have anything to wear to a party," Colin said looking at his limited choice of Muggle clothes.

"Sure you do," Jessica said. "It's a rave. Wear jeans and a black tee shirt."

Colin shrugged and pulled out what she told him to wear. He stood there for a moment, then asked, "Are you going to watch me change?"

"Oh, sorry," Jessica said. She quickly walked into the hall and closed the door behind her. She couldn't help but pace the short hall. Questions filled her head. _Would Colin like her? What if she was doomed to be in love with him while he loved someone else? Did he have a girlfriend? What was taking him so long to change? What if he never came out of his room? Why did she have to like him so much?_

Jessica couldn't take waiting silently any longer. She opened the door of Colin's brother's room. She found Dennis Creevey sitting at a desk, writing a letter and talking on the phone. Dennis's hair wasn't as mousy as Colin's, and he was talking to a girl, and one he probably liked.

"Dennis, could I talk to you?" Jessica said walking into the room.

"Oy, Jessica," Dennis said turning around to see her in the doorway. He held up a finger to Jessica to tell her he would talk to her in a second and began talking into the phone again. "Could I call ya back in a little bit? No, she's an old friend. I swear. Okay, bye." Dennis hung up and turned his chair to face Jessica. "Nice to see ya. You filled out over the last year. Anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"

Before Jessica could plan out the words and ignoring Dennis comment about filling out, she blurted, "I think I like Colin. Does he have a girlfriend?"

Dennis sat shocked for a moment. Then, he slowly reciprocated, "No, he does not have a girlfriend. But the door of his room is opening right now, I think he would know better if you stand a chance. Colin," Dennis yelled, "can I borrow Houdini?"

Colin smiled. "Sure. Ready to go?" He offered Jessica his arm.

Jessica took the arm and smiled at him. She couldn't help it. He was cute, if she ignored the fact that he was as thin as she was; or that his mousy hair had only gotten mousier in the last six years; or that he had a ridiculous smile on at the moment and his front teeth stuck out a little.

"Where is this rave, by the way?" Colin asked.

"It's only a few blocks away," Jessica said. "Remember the old skating rink? Well, it shut down. Now, the teenage son of the owner just throws raves every few months. They're a lot of fun."

"Didn't Pratt's dad own that?"

"And he still does," Jessica said. "Don't worry, Pratt is not much of a brat anymore."

"Sounds like one," Colin laughed. They walked on in silence for a few more minutes.

"So you really believe me about my school?" Colin asked the question that had been plaguing him for almost a year.

"Well, since a piece of chocolate jumped into my hair, it was kind of hard to deny," Jessica said. "And the owl that pecks at my window every month. I guess I can give you a second chance."

Colin nodded as the rave came into view. From what Jessica could tell, it was already well under way. She opened the side door that they used to sneak into the rink through when they were kids. The room was dim, lit only by red, green, and blue lights that blinked on and off. The music was deafening, louder than Colin remembered it being when they would skate as kids.

"Jessie," a girl around Jessica's age called over the crowd. Jessica grabbed Colin's wrist and led him through the crowd.

"Hey Mary," Jessica said giving the girl a hug. The girl had long blonde hair and brown eyes, and looked vaguely familiar to Colin.

"Oh My God!" Mary shrieked. "Colin, Colin Creevey? It has been years since I last saw you. I thought maybe you died, because this girl couldn't explain anything." Mary pulled Colin into a tight hug. "Do you remember me at all?"

"You were in Jessica's class," Colin barely remembered. Mary nodded enthusiastically.

Colin didn't know any one aside from a few kids he hadn't spoken with in six years and Jessica. He didn't know any of the songs. He didn't know how to act or what to do.

"I love this song," Jessica screamed while dragging Colin to meet a few more of her schoolmates. Jessica looked out at the rink where there was a loud crowd of dancing people and saw a worried look in Colin's eyes. He knew what was coming next. "Come on and let's dance," Jessica yelled and dragged him onto the dance floor.

Jessica couldn't find anything to laugh about when she finally got Colin to dance. She didn't know how, but he seemed to know exactly what to do. She had hoped that she would realize what a loser Colin was at the rave, but now she knew that she would have to find a new approach to get herself to stop liking him. Jessica only began liking Colin more as she danced with him. She decided that it was only a fluke. Beginner's luck. The next song he would look like a fool dancing.

But she was wrong. All her friends were dancing with the best looking blokes in the city, but they watched Jessica with envy because Colin knew how to dance. He wasn't using dancing as an excuse to feel her up like all the guys Jessica had danced with in the past. He wasn't pulling her too close like the other guys. He had no flaws while dancing.

It had been a little over an hour after they had begun dancing and Colin still had not made one mistake. In fact, now everyone dancing was drenched in sweat, Colin and Jessica included, and Colin was beginning to look sexy, in a stick-thin, good dancer way. Jessica couldn't stand it anymore. She was the only girl in history to be upset about having a good dance partner at a rave.

"Colin," Jessica pulled Colin to the side of the rink. "I'm getting bored, want to get out of here?"

Colin smiled down on her. "What ever you want."

Jessica grabbed his wrist and led him out of the rave. She could tell that he was trying to remember his way around the neighborhood, so Jessica sighed with relief; he wasn't perfect. And of course, there was no way he would let her lead the way.

But, to her surprise, Colin grabbed her hand a moment later and pulled her in the direction of their homes. The look in his eyes wasn't one of going home, however. Before he reached their block, he turned the corner and dragged Jessica to a park they had used to spend half their time at. The sun had set over an hour ago, so there wasn't a soul at the park aside from them. The two sat down on the bench with the least light.

"Remember when we were little and spent hours on the swings?" Colin asked after a minute.

"How could I forget?" Jessica asked. She quickly added, "it was all we used to do."

"And now we're older," Colin said.

"We go to different schools," Jessica said, a distant look in her eyes.

"Dancing at raves," Colin said quietly.

Jessica looked him in the eyes. He stared back. _It's now or never_, she told herself. Jessica felt his hand on hers, and moments later, his lips were on hers. She couldn't remember why she had brought him to the rave. She couldn't remember not wanting to like him. She had been kissed before, but not like this. Jessica felt warmth swim through her body, a warmth she had never felt before.

Moments later the kiss was over. Jessica cursed herself for liking it. Her plan wasn't working at all; it was backfiring. She liked him more. She even contemplated that maybe she loved him. She watched as Colin slowly surveyed the surrounding area. Jessica's heart fluttered when his gaze rested on her. His one hand still rested on hers, and he brought his other hand to her cheek. He leaned in to kiss her again.

_He has never kissed a girl before me_ Jessica realized at she felt his hand tremble slightly against her face. His lips were a little chapped, and he was still took deep breaths as he recovered from the dancing. But these thoughts disappeared as his lips met hers again. She felt the warmth swim through her body again.

This kiss ended much quicker than the last one. There had been a snapping twig and Colin's whole body went rigid as he looked for the source of the noise. Jessica suddenly felt empty now that Colin was no longer touching her.

"Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Mary's voice carried out of the bushes. Moments later, Mary walked to the opening of the park, a boy with black hair wrapped around her kissing her neck as if they were in a private hiding place. "Were you two just kissing?"

"You say it as if it's inappropriate?" Colin said trying not to laugh at the guy attached to Mary's neck.

"Who said anything about it being inappropriate? I think it's rather cute," Mary laughed. "Sitting in a dark park and sharing a first kiss. Isn't that just adorable Fredrick?"

"Sure," the boy replied, and he went back to kissing her neck.

"Do you even remember Colin?" Mary asked. Jessica had hoped she would mention Colin's name to Fredrick. Fredrick had never liked Colin, and after six years, she doubted that he changed his mind about him.

Just as Jessica had predicted, Fredrick stopped kissing Mary's neck and looked up at Colin. An evil smirk spread across his thin lips and his eyebrows became oddly pointed. A devilish look appeared in the black holes of Fredrick's eyes as he said in a drawling voice, "Creevey… I'm amazed that you dare show your face. You look like even more of a geek than last time we met."

"Pratt's not much of a brat anymore?" Colin whispered into Jessica's ear. She could only shrug in embarrassment. She had hoped that Pratt's comment would make her come to a realization about Colin, but the realization she came to was that Pratt was a jerk.

"We were just headed to my house," Mary announced sensing tension. "Want to come?"

"We'd love to," Jessica said. She stood and followed Mary and Pratt out of the park. Colin followed a few paces behind.

It was about a 10-minute walk to Mary's house. Once they arrived and were all settled into the living room, Mary said nonchalantly, "My parents are out of the house for the weekend."

Pratt's eyes lit with excitement. He stood and grabbed Mary's wrist and began to pull her towards the hall. Mary called to Jessica just before she was out of sight, "Feel free to use a guest room."

The air in the room grew awkward with the disappearance of Mary, especially after what she said. Jessica looked at Colin biting his lower lip and felt oddly powerful. She was experienced at something he wasn't. Maybe this is what she needed to convince her that she did not like him. _Yes, this is it!_ she thought to herself.

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the hall and into the only guest room with a queen bed. She closed the door behind them and sat on the bed, waiting for Colin to make the first move. She felt confident he would get the hint she was sending him, and therefore she could yell at him for being a perverted pig and he would no longer plague her thoughts.

But he stood stock still in the center of the room. He was nervous and didn't want to. There was no way he could really be a boy if he didn't want to. That's when Jessica realized the truth, he didn't want to upset her.

She was shocked. She was trying to get him to upset her, and he didn't want to. Was it possible that he felt the same way toward her that she was trying not to feel toward him? She stood and walked to Colin. He was taller than she was, so she stood on her toes before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again. She felt his arms wrap around her back, and moments later, she and Colin fell onto the bed.

Colin wasn't trying to move any faster than Jessica wanted. Jessica was, in fact, making all the moves. She slowly peeled off his shirt. Jessica wondered how a boy as thin as Colin could look like he had any muscles, but they were definitely forming. She straightened herself out on the bed and pulled Colin closer. Colin did not seem to know what to do with his hands, so Jessica guided one under her skirt to her thigh, hoping that he would know what to do from there. Her mind was clouded with ideas and fantasies. How had she fallen so hard, so fast? The next thing she knew, her hands were fumbling with his belt buckle.

Jessica knew it had affected Colin more than her as he walked her home. She also knew that she was in love. They reached her front door too soon, and she looked Colin in the eyes. He bent forward and kissed her lightly again.

"I love you," Colin whispered in her ear. He made his way back to the sidewalk and went on to his own home.

Jessica's body had been tingling with the same warmth that had passed through her when he first kissed her. She fell onto her bed and smiled. She was in love, and she had just had the best experience of her life with the one she loved.

The next day she invited herself into the Creeveys's house just after noon. She heard loud bickering from down the hall. She sighed and wished she had a sibling to fight with. She climbed the stairs and followed the noise.

"Annoying bastard," Dennis yelled as he stomped out of Colin's room headed for his own. He stopped upon seeing Jessica. "Jessica's here," Dennis yelled back to Colin. "You might want to brace yourself before going in there," Dennis said to her. "He's using his new school skills." He still didn't know that she knew what kind of school they went to.

"You're doing magic?" Jessica asked popping a head into Colin's room. He was indeed. Half of his possessions were floating in midair.

He looked at Jessica and everything fell to the ground with a loud crash. Dennis laughed loudly from across the hall.

"I thought you couldn't perform magic during your break," Jessica said. If only this had happened last night when she didn't want to like him. For some reason, the butterflies in her stomach were disappearing and her heart grew heavy.

"That was last year," Colin explained. "I came of age during the year so the Ministry no longer can do anything unless I do something stupid like perform magic in public. Dennis is pissed because he's still not of age."

"But you're only 17," Jessica said.

"And that's when a Wizard comes of age," Colin said. He crossed the room and bent down to kiss her, but she turned away. Dennis laughed even louder as he watched from his room. With a flick of Colin's wand, both doors slammed closed. Colin looked at Jessica and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I love you," Jessica said, feeling her eyes grow hot. "Really, I do. But… We belong to two different worlds. I don't know if this is going to work out." Jessica felt ready to sob. Colin tried to move closer, but she moved away again. _Why couldn't he be a jerk? Why was he so perfect?_

"I want to be with you," Colin pleaded. "I love you. With all my heart, I love you. Please." Jessica silently sobbed and shook her head. "What do you want me to do?" Colin asked. "Give up magic? Give up what I've been doing for the last six years and pretend it never happened? Go back to being a Muggle?" He tossed his wand to the ground. "I will."

"I can't make you do that," Jessica sobbed. "I'm sorry Colin." She opened the door and ran out of the house.

She spent the following weeks avoiding him. However, the less she saw of him, the more she thought of him. She knew Dennis had a few friends over for a week in mid August. Her whole family was invited to the Creevey house for a casual get-together. Mrs. London made it clear that Jessica was to stay the whole time and 'cheer up Colin' who Mrs. Creevey had reported was feeling lonely while Dennis still had a few friends in the neighborhood.

Jessica recognized Dennis's friends from a picture Colin had shown her just about a year ago. She couldn't see Colin, so she thought that she would talk to Dennis instead.

"You must be lost," the short, fat boy said as she approached. "You can't possibly want to talk to any of us."

"Shut it Zachary," the tallest of the four said. He smiled at Jessica and the corners of his green eyes scrunched a little. "You must be one of Dennis's beautiful neighbors. Nice to meet you. My name is Phillip Penther. I assume you know Dennis. That is Zachary Dumb-hole…"

"It's Dunhole," Zachary broke in.

"And Dennis's blonde twin is Kevin Whitby."

"I see you have a nice group of friends, Dennis," Jessica smiled. "I'm Jessie."

"Since when have you been Jessie?" Colin's voice rang behind her.

Jessica turned to see a very disheveled Colin. His eyes couldn't even move from his feet, and she could see a trace of tears about to form.

"Yeah," Dennis asked. "You used to explode when we called you Jessie. What caused the sudden change of heart?"

"Circumstances changed," Jessica stated.

She knew she struck a nerve in Colin. He turned away from her and stalked into the house. Jessica felt her heart grow heavy again.

"So you're the reason he's been so down lately?" Kevin questioned. His blue eyes bore into her gray ones.

"He hasn't performed any magic since you two last talked," Dennis said. "My mom has been worried about him. He hardly eats anything, and I swear he cries at night. And… oh shoot, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry Jessica!"

Jessica felt Dennis's hand on her back and she collapsed to the ground in tears. She was in pain wanting him. Colin was in pain wanting her. But there was no way it would work out, not as long as he was part of the magical community.

"Maybe we should go inside," Phillip suggested.

"Good idea," Dennis said. Jessica used Dennis's guidance to make her way into the house. Once inside, Dennis asked, "What happened? What's wrong?"

"I love him," Jessica sobbed. "And he loves me."

"I see no problem then," Zachary commented.

"But we live in different worlds," Jessica sobbed.

"So you don't want to be with him because he's a Wizard?" Phillip asked.

Jessica shook her head. "I want to be with him, but it wouldn't work out."

"Why not?" Kevin asked. "It's common for a member of the magical community to be with a Muggle. Half of the Hufflepuffs are half-and-half. We all live on the same planet. Who cares if he can perform magic? It can only benefit you. Imagine, a flick of his wand and all the cleaning is done. You can still be together."

"And it's not like his family would disown him for being with you," Phillip continued. "I say you march up those stairs and ignore the fact that he's a Wizard. Just give him a big, sloppy kiss on the lips. Do you want to kiss him?"

Jessica nodded.

"She'll kiss anyone who'll pucker up for her," a drawling voice announced the arrival of Pratt at the Creevey's open back door. All four boys stood up and balled their fists.

"How dare you speak like that of a lady," Zachary said, his body quivering in anger.

"The Creevey's go to some stupid private boarding school," Pratt laughed, "and they still make the trashiest friends. No offense Jessie, I know that they rubbed off on you."

"My friends are not trashy," Dennis yelled.

"You're the trashy one," Phillip yelled.

All four Wizards were ready to fight with Pratt, until they heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. Colin stood at the landing for a moment, contemplating what was happening. He looked at Pratt and said, "I thought I smelled something foul."

"This is an odd occurrence," Pratt laughed. "I can't tell which of you broke up with who, but you're both acting like babies. Was it tiny, Jessie? Is that why you broke up? I mean, when you've been with a guy like me, why would you sink to a low like him?"

"Shut up!" Colin yelled. The ground shook slightly as he glared at Pratt and continued in a low, angry voice Jessica had never heard him use. "I don't know why you're here, but get out of my house. Get out of my life. Stay away from me. Stay away from my family. Stay away from everyone I care about. If you dare piss me off again, I will kill you." Everyone standing was beginning to have trouble keeping his balance, save Colin.

Pratt took a few steps back so he was in the door frame. He looked at Colin with a look of revolt. "You're a freak, that's what you are," he spat and ran away from the house.

"Damn Colin," Zachary said after calming down, "that was powerful."

Colin looked on the verge of tears again. He was about to turn away when Jessica finally stood. She walked up to him and fell into his arms. She was crying and frantically apologizing, "I'm so sorry, Colin, I do love you. I really do."

"I love you too, Jessica," Colin said stroking her hair as she cried. A few tears dripped down his cheeks.

Jessica looked up into Colin's eyes and felt her heart beating slightly faster than normal. She stood on her toes again, and allowed Colin to kiss her again. She could ignore the magic if it came to that.


	3. Chapter 3

The Pain of a Muggle dating her Magical Friend

_Dear Colin,_

_I met with a councilor today on advice about a long-distance relationship. It helped to talk to a man with a wife who lived in Berlin for a year and a half just after getting married. He says that he believes we can work out as long as we keep up constant contact, as we have been. And by constant, I don't mean once every few weeks. I mean at least once a week. Tell Houdini I'm sorry, but I think that he likes making a lot of long journeys. _

_Also, tell your brother and his friends I say 'hi,' will you. I have a feeling that you didn't last time I asked you to. Just imagine how upset he would get if he thought I never said hi to him. Well, I have to go now, my phone is ringing. I'll write you again soon. Write soon and tell me when you're coming home. The holidays start in a few weeks, maybe you could come home for those._

_Love,_

_Jessica_

Jessica finished her letter and folded it. Colin's owl was sitting at her windowsill, waiting for a letter to deliver back to Colin. Jessica tied the letter to Houdini's leg and the owl then jumped out of the window. She watched it fly into the night and hoped it would make it to Colin soon. Then she remembered the phone and grabbed just as her answering machine picked up.

"I'm sorry…but I'm not here right now," Jessica's voice sounded in the phone piece.

"Yes I am," Jessica yelled over her own voice. "Sorry."

"Jessica," it was her friend Mary, "are you coming over or not? Everyone else is here and we're all waiting for you to arrive."

"Sorry," Jessica said. "I forgot. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Jessica grabbed her book bag, threw on a coat, and ran out the door. The cold air hit her face, and she could almost feel her nose turning red as she ran to Mary's house. She began taking sharp breaths as she turned onto Mary's block. The cold air was stinging her throat.

"'Bout time you got here," Mary said opening the door. Jessica looked around to see three other girls and one boy. The girls were all blonde and beautiful. The boy was Fredrick Pratt, who she hadn't spoken to since the summer.

"I was just writing to Colin," Jessica explained. "I didn't want him to think I had forgotten him."

"Because that would be such a pity,"Pratt growled.

"I don't see why you don't just call him," one of the blondes said before taking a sip of tea. "At least that way you can have phone sex or something."

"Gilda," Pratt laughed, "let's be reasonable. We're speaking about Colin Creevey. If he tried to have phone sex..."

"Don't even finish that sentance," another of the blondes said. "I don't understand your obsession with sex. It's immature."

"Naomi, have you ever had sex?"Gilda asked.

"I am proud to say no," Naomi replied. "What about you? Can you claim that you haven't sinned?"

"Is it a sin to make someone else happy?" Gilda asked. Mary, Pratt, and the third blond all laughed.

"We were made through sin," the third blond said.

"At least it wasn't before marriage," Naomi claimed.

"I don't know how you can claim that," Mary said. "Weren't you just telling us before Jessie got here..."

"And now that she is here," Naomi said, "it about time we get started. Pull up a chair, Jess."

"What is our project again?" the third blond asked.

"We are presenting the Cromwell period to the class, Vega," Jessica said.

"I know nothing about that time," Mary said. "How long was Cromwell queen again?"

Jessica sighed and set to work explaining to Mary about Oliver Cromwell, pushing Colin from her mind for the mean time.

When she got home, an unfamiliar owl was perched on a branch outside her room. She knew that Colin couldn't have recieved the letter yet, but she couldn't imagine who else would send her a letter by Owl Post.

She took the letter and gave the owl a bit of bread from a sandwich she made herself. She then opened the parchment and read the letter. It was from Colin, he just used a different owl.

_Dear Jessica,_

_I am writing you because I wanted to let you know I will be home for the hols. My mother is picking my up at King's Cross on Saturday, and it would be splendid if you could be there also. If not, I will stop by your house as soon as I am able to. Also, my two friends will be there too, so you can finally meet them. They are both half Muggle, so they are a bit different from Dennis's friends. Dennis is spending the hols at Dunhole's house. Write back with a response to my request, if you're not too tired._

_Forever yours, _

_Colin_

Jessica smiled. He hadn't even recieved her letter yet, but the same thoughts were on his mind. She grabbed a piece of paper and promised that she would be at the station to pick him up.

Early Saturday morning, Mrs. Creevey picked Jessica up and drove to the station in London. It was a long drive, and Jessica slept the first half as Mrs. Creevey suggested she ought to. They arrived to the station just as students from Colin's school began to appear. Jessica was slightly shocked as they emerged from a solid barrier, but then again, she had also been shocked when a frog made of solid chocolate had jumped into her hair.

As soon as Colin came through, Jessica ran to him and threw her arms around him. Moments later, another boy walked through the barrier and into Colin's back as he had yet moved from in front of the barrier.

"Sorry, Colin," the boy said. He was stocky and slightly familiar to Jessica. She remembered he had been in a few pictures Colin had showed her during the end of summer, though she couldn't for the life of her remember his name.

The three moved away from the barrier and just in time for a shy looking girl to emerge. It was Colin's other friend, she remembered. Colin motioned for them all to follow him as he spotted his mother. He gave his mom a quick hug, then began introductions.

"This is Theo," Colin said pointing at the boy. Theo had very short red-brown hair, thick eyebrows, and a sharp facial features. His green eyes werehidden behinda pair of glasses. He smiled and bowed slightly to Mrs. Creevey and Jessica.

Colin pointed at the girl and said, "This is Laura." Laura looked up from the ground and smiled slightly. She had green eyes, which were hidden after a second behind her blonde bangs. Laura's blonde hair was free of split ends, and aside from her bangs which just covered the top of her eyes, flowed half way down her back. Her cheeks were blushed a little. And, before her smiled disappeared, Jessica noticed Laura's perfect white teeth and pink lips. Aside from her confidence, Laura seemed to be perfect. Jessica felt a rush of jealousy as Laura took a step closer to Colin, as if it was comfortable for her to know he was around.

Jessica hardly noticed that Colin was now introducing her to his friends. He put an arm around her and said, "This is Jessica."

"The ever mentioned Jessica," Theo said taking her hand and shaking it. "I have heard so much about you over the past six and a half years, especially first year and this year. And might I say, you are more beautiful in person than I imagined."

"Nice to meet you," Jessica said as Theo released her hand. She looked at Laura, whose cheeks had turned a darker pink.

During the car ride, Jessica couldn't help but be happy as half the conversation centered around her and how she was doing in school. Theo said that if Pratt, who Colin had apparently mentioned in association with evil, bothered her while he was around, all she had to do was say the word and he would hex him half way across the Atlantic.

When they arrived at Colin's house, Mr. Creevey was waiting for them and invited them all inside for tea and biscuits. Jessica walked in to find her parents were there too, dressed as if they were expecting the Minister to enter. She felt her cheeks grow hot as her mother commented on Jessica's jeans and shirt.

Most of the conversation was around Colin until Jessica's parents left. They wanted Jessica to join them, but she had convinced them to allow her to spend another few hours with Colin.

"Your parents are the most stereotypical Muggles," Theo said as the four teenagers entered Colin's room. "They wouldn't suspect magic was happening around them if their hair was switched." Theo sat at the foot of Colin's bed.

Laura giggled, which was one of the first sounds Jessica had heard the blonde make. Laura sat at the head Colin's bed and folded her legs so that her feet were under her thighs. She bounced a little, then said, "Your bed is really nice, Colin. Much better than your bed at Hogwarts." They were the first words Jessica had heard her speak willingly. Then she realized was she had said. _Why had she been on Colin's bed at school?_ Jessica turned to Colin, whose cheeks were flaming. He shrugged and sat between his two friends on the bed. There wasn't much room left for Jessica on the bed, so she grabbed the chair at Colin's desk and sat on that.

The conversation seemed forced after a few minutes. It only took Jessica a minute to figure out that Laura was flirting with Colin way too much for Jessica's comfort. She took slight comfort knowing that Laura would be in Dennis's room, and that Theo would at least be around Colin so chances were that Laura wouldn't try anything sketchy, but she was still worried. Laura was a lot prettier than she was, and she didn't want to lose Colin.

When it was time for Jessica to leave, Colin walked her all the way to her house. It was cold outside, and Colin wrapped his coat around her, sacrificing his comfort to keep her warm. Once at Jessica's doorstep, Colin kissed her, the first kiss since he had left in the summer. Jessica gave him back his coat, and he backed away, proclaiming his love to her until he reached the street.

Jessica didn't wake until after noon the next day.Her parents must have left the house before she woke, and with no parent to wake her, she slept to a ridiculous time, as she had done many times before. It took her a moment to realize why she woke; her phone was ringing.

"Hello?" Jessica said as she picked up the phone. Sleep was still in her voice.

"Hey," Mary's voice sounded. "Just calling to confirm that you are coming to the ice rink tonight. And to tell you to feel free to bring as many friends you would like."

"Okay," Jessica answered. "I'll be there. I'm bringing Colin, is that okay?"

"Colin is back in town?" Mary shrieked. "How is he?"

"He's fine," Jessica said. "He brought two of his friends from school with him, it it alright if they come too?"

"As long as they are cute," Mary said.

"One is a girl," Jessica said. "Another blonde. The boy, I guess you could consider him cute."

"He had better be," Mary said. "Fredrick is into Vega this week. I don't know why he likes her. She is as think as a wall."

"Right," Jessica said. She hung up her phone and began to get ready for the day. She pulled on a pair of nude tights and wore a flowy pink skirt that went down to her knees. She put on a warm white fleece sweater and picked out a pair of pink gloves and matching earmuffs. She left her hair down, knowing that the ice rink would be cold. She finished with a pair of black boots, then set out toward Colin's house.

Theo answered the door.

"Hello, Jessica," Theo said and he invited her in from the cold. "Colin just finished taking a shower and will be down in a minute. I don't know where Laura went, but she couldn't have gotten too far. How can I help you?"

"I just wanted to invite you all to an ice skating party later on," Jessica said.

"Will there be other beautiful girls there?" Theo asked. "Preferably not too many blondes?"

"Um, I think so," Jessica said. "What do you have against blondes?"

"I have four blonde sisters," Theo said. "I've grown to know them too well."

"Well," Jessica said, "I'm just going to go find Colin." She walked up the stairs and down the hall. She came to a halt when she walked into Colin's room. Colin was no where to be seen, but Laura was sitting on his bed, wrapped in nothing more than a towel.

"What are you doing?" Jessica asked.

"Waiting for Colin," Laura replied innocently. "I left my clothing in the bath after showering and I am now waiting for Colin to finish so I can retrieve my clothes."

Jessica straightened and smiled. She walked backwards until her back was against the bathroom door. She knocked several times, then said in her most surreal voice, "Oh, Colin, it has only been a few hours since I last saw you, but I am _dying_ to see you again and I don't think I could bare another minute withouth your embrace."

The door opened and, instead of Colin, Mr. Creevey stood in the door. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I was just readying myself to leave. The shower in here broke a few weeks back, so Colin'll be in the other bath."

Laura was clutching her towel so that it wouldn't fall off as she rolled on Colin's bed laughing. Jessica, now pink, shyly walked to the other bath and knocked a few times. After a second, Colin opened the door adorned in similar attire as Laura. Jessica pushed Colin further into the room, grabbed the pile of Laura's clothing, it was all pink, and dropped it just outside the door. She then closed the door again and smiled at Colin.

"Hey, Jessica," Colin said, nervously it seemed. "How are you?"

"Much better now," Jessica said.

Jessica hugged Colin and rested her head on his shoulder. His skin was still slightly damp and his hair was dripping wet. She lightly kissed his shoulder and then pulled her head back so she could look him in the eyes. "I don't like her," Jessica said, "I think she's trying to steal you from me."

"Laura's not going to steal me from you," Colin said. He kissed her lightly. "And even if she was trying to, I wouldn't allow it to happen. Don't you understand, Jessica? I love you."

"She's sitting on your bed wearing a towel," Jessica said. "Tell me you don't think that's hot."

"Why are you holding me in here then?" Colin asked, but jokingly. Jessica scrunched up her nose and lightly hit his arm.

"We're going ice skating tonight," Jessica changed the topic.

"Thanks for the choice," Colin smiled. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to change and since I don't have any clothes in here, I might need to go to my room."

Jessica opened the door and followed Colin out of the bath. Laura had found her clothes, which were a tight, fuzzy sweater and miniskirt, both light pink. Jessica waited outside Colin's room until Colin came out.

"That's what you're skating in?" Jessica asked.

"I think he looks good," Laura smiled.

"Oh," Jessica said, "I never said he didn't look good. I'm concerned that he'll get chilled in a t-shirt."

"Are we leaving right now?" Colin asked.

"Of course not," Jessica said, "The rink doesn't even open until four, but..."

"I'll change before we leave," Colin said.

Theo had learned his way around the Creevey kitchen and had found enough food to feed the group for a good few hours. He had also found the large TV in the den and was watching a game of football. Specifically a Woman's game.

It took Colin several minutes to convince Theo to change the channel, and after a minute of channel surfing, landed on a horror film. Both boys smiled while Laura and Jessica moved onto the couch uneasily.

After an hour and a half of horror, Jessica wanted to claw Laura's eyes out. She had grabbed Colin's hands more than four times as she got scared. Jessica looked at the clock to see it was five already. "How about we go eat and then we can go to the rink."

"Sounds good to me," Theo said. "I could do with some more food."

"You already cleared out my kitchen," Colin complained.

"You let me," Theo said and barked a laugh.

Colin went up to his room and changed into rink appropriate clothes. The result, he threw on a sweatshirt over the tee-shirt.They all put on coats and walked quickly down the road to the nearest restaurant. After a quick dinner, Theo ate half of everyone else's meal and all of his own,the fourleft for the rink.

"Come on Colin," Laura shrieked once she had her skates on. "Let's skate." She grabbed Colin's wrist and pulled him onto the ice before he could respond.

"What is she doing?" Jessica asked Theo.

"Skating?" Theo guessed. "How about you and I skate too."

"Well... I..." Jessica had been wanting to skate with Colin.

"Great," Theo grabbed Jessica's wrist.

"Jessie," Mary yelled skating toward the entrance to the rink that Jessica and Theo had just come through. Gilda and Naomi were with her. "Who's that?"

"And who is with your boyfriend?" Gilda asked.

"Boyfriend?" Theo asked.

"Yeah," Mary said. "She's dating Colin Creevey. He's the..."

"I know who Colin is," Theo said. He turned to Jessica and continued, "I didn't know you two were dating."

"What?" Jessica asked. She pulled his wrist from Theo's much loosened grip. "He never said anything?"

"Not to Laura or me," Theo said. "She and Colin have been on again, off again for a few months now."

"He what?" Jessica shrieked. She turned to the rink and spotted Colin and Laura skating. She saw the smile on his face and realized that he wasn't just skating with her to be polite. "Excuse me," Jessica said, walking off the ice and running to the locker room.

"Jessie," Mary's voice called, "I know you're in here. Come out."

"No," Jessica yelled from a changing compartment.

"Fine," Mary said. A moment later, Mary was crawling in from the foot and a half under the door. "What did you expect?"

"Not to cheat," Jessica said. "To be honest with someone."

"It does seem a tad bit weird," Mary said. "Considering who he is. But he went away to a boarding school. I don't know how you expected him to not be into another girl. Especially one as pretty as..."

"Not helping," Jessica said.

"The point is, screw him. There are plenty of hot guys here. Hook up with one who Colin couldn't even compare to and when he comes crawling back, kick him with your skate."

"It's not that simple," Jessica said. "Mary, you only date guys because you think they are cute. I love Colin."

"Seriously?" Mary asked. "I didn't even know that was possible."

"It is," Jessica said. "I'm going to go home now. If Colin asks where I went, tell him he sent me to my grave."

"What!" Mary yelled. "Are you going to do anything stupid?"

"No," Jessica said. "I just want to be away from him."

"I'm not letting you alone," Mary said. "I'll walk home with you." And she did. Mary didn't let Jessica out of her sight until she got Jessica inside her house and told Jessica's parents about Colin breaking her heart.

Two days later, Jessica woke to voices near the front door of the house. Jessica looked outside and saw Theo standing, shivering in the cold.A few moments later, there was a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" Jessica yelled, prepared to hear Colin's voice.

"It's Laura. Can we speak?"

Jessica opened the door to see Laura looking quite as if she had had two sleepless nights just like Jessica had. "I didn't know," Laura said. "He never told us that you two were dating. I guess he thought it was kind of implied. Ever since the school year began and Colin seemed so much more confident in himself and talked about you so often, I thought you were a bit of a whore. If I had known that you were his girlfriend, I wouldn't have been trying to... you know. I was afraid you would break his heart, and wanted him to get over you for his protection. It is true, that I did like him, but he seemed so obsessed over you, I was afraid for him."

"Theo said you two were on again, off again this year," Jessica said, her expression didn't change.

"If by that, he means that I kissed and flirted with Colin on and off, then yes. He never flirted back."

"Why do you know what his bed at school is like?"

"That was from like two years ago when this one girl would never shut up about her boyfriend. I took shelter in the boys dormitory. I'm sorry if you thought that Colin was cheating on you. He wasn't. When Mary explained to him what happened with you, I've never seen him look so pained. He's truly afraid that you are going to hurt yourself. Please, Jessica, let him know you are okay, if nothing else."

"Get out of my room," Jessica said.

"Did you hear a thing I said?" Laura yelled.

"I heard everything," Jessica said. "But I want you out."

Laura turned and stomped her way out of the house. Jessica watched through her window as she joined Theo and explained what had happened. Theo, too grew angry. He threw up his arms as he spoke back and his face grew red.

It was another day later that Jessica asnwered the front door when the bell rang to find Dennis.

"Dennis," Jessica said, surprised, "what are you doing here?"

"Did you break up with Colin?" Dennis asked, inviting himself inside.

"Technically," Jessica said, her face suddenly grave, "not yet."

"Don't do it, Jessica," Dennis said. "Laura wrote me a tear stained letter yesterday about how she ruined your relationship with Colin. She went back toschool so she wouldn't cause and more 'damage.'"

"You came home to keep me from breaking up with your brother?" Jessica asked. "Weren't you supposed to spend your break with your own friends?"

"They're all at my house," Dennis said. "When Kevin stole and read my letter, he and the other guys insisted that we came here to make sure, quote, 'Colin's hottie girlfriend doesn't ruin the best thing in either of their lives.'"

"And Colin?" Jessica asked, a tear dripping from her eye.

"Worse than when you didn't want to be with him in the summer," Dennis said. "If it wasn't for the fact that Theo was staying in his room, we would be afraid that he would have done something really stupid by now."

"I'm just so upset," Jessica said.

"That's okay," Dennis said. "Theo, Kevin, Zachary, and Phillip will be dragging Colin here any minute. They had to make sure he looked presentable, at least."

Sure enough, from around the corner of the block, Colin could be seen, herded by the fourother boys. Jessica tried to run away, but Dennis grabbed her wrist and turned her out the door. Not thinking about the fact that it was freezing outside and that she was barefoot and in shorts, he pushed her out the door and toward Colin.

"Dennis," Jessica yelled when she got her voice back. "It's freezing out here."

"Go to your boyfriend for warmth then," Dennis said.

A few seconds later, Colin and Jessica were face to face.

"I'm so sorry, Jessica," Colin said. "I wasn't even thinking and Laura's just a friend."

"Platonic friend," Kevin said.

"No love vibes whatsoever from Colin," Zachary said.

"He's too in love with you," Phillip said.

Jessica couldn't help but smile slightly. "Just get your brother to let me go back inside again and I'll forget it ever happened," Jessica said, grabbing Colin's hand. Colin pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Colin actually kissed a girl," Theo laughed. "Never thought that would actually happen."

"Theo," Colin said.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."


End file.
